Vacation Debt Free!
Determine how much you’ll need
In order to budget and save for vacation you first need to know HOW MUCH you plan to spend.
Once you determine your amount, divide that amount by the amount of months you still have left to save for your vacation. This will become your monthly goal.
Discretionary spending 90-day “fast”
Discretionary spending simply means any non-essential expenditures that you make on regular basis. What can you “give up” for a season in order to do your vacation debt-free? If you have 3 months before your vacation, do a 90-day “fast” from discretionary spending (clothing, meals outside of the home, entertainment, etc). Whatever amount you’d usually spend on those categories set aside for your vacation.
Direct Deposit – Out of sight out of mind
If you are a spender, you’ll have to do something a bit more drastic in order to set funds aside. Otherwise, if you have it it’ll be gone in no time – and you won’t even know where it went! Ask your employer to direct deposit a specific amount ($50 or $100 a paycheck) into a separate account, which may even be in a different bank than your general checking account.
Generate extra income
If your budget is stretched to the max and you’d still like to save for vacation, then generating extra income could be your best option.
Here are some ideas:
- Find one home per week to clean. This will usually generate anywhere between $50 – 85 per cleaning session.
- Afterschool care. Find out if someone in your neighborhood needs afterschool care for their child. This could save them money and give you extra income. Afterschool programs usually cost 50-75/week.
- Yard work - $35-$45/cut
- Tutoring - $25-$35/hour
- Grocery shopping for elderly in your area
Today's tip brought to you by Mvelopes and Money4Life Coaching.